Album Review: Counting Crows - Somewhere Under Wonderland

The long, mournful trumpet-and-piano intro to “Palisades
Park,” the atmospheric opening track on Counting Crows’ first new studio album
in six years, suggests that we’re in for something different. In fact, though, much
of the rest of the album should sound rather familiar to longtime fans. Containing
nine tracks (a deluxe edition adds acoustic demo versions of two of them), the program
does slip in a few minor musical surprises. Mostly, though, it relies on the same
elements that characterized the group’s earlier efforts: Adam Duritz’s introspective
lyrics about fame, love and alienation; his impassioned, theatrical vocals; and
the band’s distinctive brand of rock, which shifts suddenly and easily from
uptempo power pop to balladry and back.

Not everything here packs a punch. Many of Duritz’s latest
lyrics strike me as being closer to pretentious than profound while some of the
vocals seem more histrionic than evocative. More importantly, perhaps, the album
simply isn’t as much fun to listen to as some of the earlier ones. There are,
for example, no hooks or choruses as instantly addictive as the ones that drove classics like “Mr. Jones” and “Rain King.” Listening to the album, moreover,
I get the sense that Duritz and his pals are pretty much in the same place they
occupied when we last heard new original music from them in 2008.

On the other hand, that’s not such a bad place to be. And
the new album is not without its high points. “Earthquake Driver,” for example,
is a catchy rocker that had me coming back for more. And then there’s Duritz’s
dirge-like “Possibility Days,” the last and best track, which benefits from deftly
written lyrics and an arresting vocal.

So I am glad to have the album. But I also hope we won’t
have to wait so long for the next one and that, when it arrives, it will reveal
a band that has moved on a bit.

Jeff Burger (byjeffburger.com), a longtime magazine editor, has written about music, politics, and popular culture for more than 75 periodicals. His books include Dylan on Dylan: Interviews and Encounters, Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon, Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches…